Best Hindi Film Albums of the 90s

Oh, that was the age of Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Abhijeet and Sonu Nigam. Haven’t we all grown up to surrender ourselves to the pathos of Saanso ki zaroorat hai and danced to the tunes of Dil To Pagal Hai. The pop generation might find them cringe-worthy, but fact remains that 90’s was the last decade which kept the desi­ legacy alive. Here are the top 5 albums of the decade. Though, each song of these albums gave us ever lasting jolts of pleasure, the article would touch about 2-3 songs from each album:

Roja

The best work by AR Rahman was etched in every song of this romantic film. Each song in the album had those gentle cadences of the springs that stay with you. Forever.

Aashiqui

What a blast off to the decade. Bhatt movies have seldom disappointed music lovers, but Aashiqui was an album that started it all. The combo of Nadeem-Shravan and Kumar Sanu made each song in the album a for the ears. If Saason ki zaroorat hai made a genuine case for romance, Tu meri zindagi was the plea from a typical 90’s hero to his flame.

Dil to Pagal Hai

Knockout of the decade. If early 90s belonged to Kumar Sanu, albums like Dil to Pagal Hai perched Udit Narayan right at the top. The most original voice to have made foray in the industry in decades made songs like Bholi Si Surat, Dholna along with the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar. It still makes me wonder why the film’s music director, Uttam Singh, couldn’t make it to the cream.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

Though it was more than just shaadi wala gaana, but Mehandi laga ke rakhna sure gave baraatis a song to dance to. Tujhe Dekha to yeh Jaana Sanam was melody personified. Aaja ghar pardesi took you closer to the meadows of Punjab while Mere khwabon mein perched you right into the dreams of a teenage queen.

Border

A war movie making to the list of best music albums tells you something about its music director, Anu Malik. Though album’s best song was arguably Sandese Aate Hai, but melodies like Ae Jaate Hue Lamhon and Hamein Tumse Mohabbat Ho Gayi Hai swooned you into a lyrical saga of love. A star was born in the shape of Sonu Nigam, though he got his due much later.

Taal

You couldn’t have expected anything less when you had Anand Bakshi and AR Rahman collaborating. The music of Taal was in a different league of its own. The songs in Taal take time getting used to. Only after a while you realize you have been fully worked over.